Tax fraud should be non-bailable — Salceda
“GHOSTING the tax authority should be non-bailable.”
This was proposed by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, in a bid to punish fake stores and those issuing fake receipts.
Salceda made a commitment to the Bureau of Internal Revenue through proposed law that will punish the selling and issuance of fake receipts to pad gross expense and creditable input Value Added Tax (VAT).
“In support of attaining the revenue goals of the Bureau, we will draft that measure,” Salceda told BIR OIC- Deputy Commissioner Maridur V. Rosario, who represented the Bureau in the briefing by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee.
“We will draft legislation so that selling and buying receipts to pad your deductible expenses or input VAT is non-bailable, using the lifeblood doctrine. Tax ghosting is non-bailable,” he added.
The legislation should penalize both the buyer and seller for tax fraud.
“Right now, the tax code imposes penalties and surcharges only on those who use fake receipts for tax fraud. Section 248 of the Tax Code imposes, in addition to the tax required to be paid, a penalty equivalent to 25 percent of the amount due. That’s not a lot,” Salceda added.
“That penalty is not enough of a deterrent, and if my conversation with DepCom Rosario is right, it’s still unclear whether the seller of fake receipts and other accessories to the crime are liable,” he added.
Salceda explained that tax experts call the practice “ghosting the tax authority,” because “ghost companies” issue fake receipts to taxpayers to defraud the tax collection agency.
Sometimes, receipts from expenses not considered valid expenses are used to pad deductibles.
